{"id":841153,"date":"2024-12-09T05:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=841153"},"modified":"2024-12-06T12:48:40","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T18:48:40","slug":"why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve studied and written about spiritual warfare for more than thirty years now. In fact, you can study the topic with me through the Church Answers \u201cChurch Equip\u201d course, \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/solutions\/courses\/engaging-in-spiritual-warfare-biblical-truth-for-victory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engaging in Spiritual Warfare<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d In some ways, that short course reflects the core of what I\u2019ve taught over the years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I don\u2019t always talk about when I\u2019m teaching this topic, however, is why I started studying warfare in the first place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father drank when I was quite young, and he had a violent, explosive temper for many years. My first memory is a time when my dad was angry at my mom for being at the store too long, and he destroyed the bottom floor of our home. Now more than sixty years later, I can still walk you through that house and show you the upheaval as if it happened yesterday. Every detail remains etched in my mind. Even my Christian conversion at age 13 did not erase that memory\u2014or many others, for that matter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indeed, more than once I stood between my mom and dad\u2014both of them towering over me when I was younger\u2014hoping to shield my mom as she shook and cried in fear under the barrage of my dad\u2019s verbal assaults. I was equally afraid, but I felt a compulsion to somehow guard my mom. In fact, I lived in dreaded fear of my dad until I was big enough to stand up to him (or more likely, just avoid him)\u2014but the fears of my young years then turned to hatred in my teen years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, though, my conversion at age 13 didn\u2019t free me immediately from those feelings; it just left me confused under what I would later learn was Holy Spirit conviction. It would be more than 15 years later before I found victory over that anguish. That\u2019s where the topic of spiritual warfare entered my story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Healing began for me unexpectedly one day when I read a Bible verse I had read many times before, but didn\u2019t see its significance until then:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Eph 6:12).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seemed as if this text leapt off the page to me, teaching me that my dad was not my enemy; in fact, people in general are not the enemy. Rather, there is a supernatural enemy who wanted to keep me afraid, angry, and unforgiving. The father of lies (John 8:44) sought to keep me in bondage to my enduring bitterness toward my earthly father.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, realizing who the real enemy was became the first step toward God\u2019s healing my anguish toward my dad \u2013 so much so that I found it much easier to pray for his salvation until God finally saved him when he was 71 years old. To God\u2019s glory, He so transformed my dad that we almost didn\u2019t know the new man who hugged us, told us he loved us, and exhibited joy and peace. God had miraculously freed my dad from the domain of darkness (Col 1:13-14).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How, then, does that story help me today?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li><b>I pray more.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> When you know a very real spiritual enemy wants to deceive, distract, and destroy you and your family, you\u2019ll pray more. You\u2019ll learn to fight spiritual battles from your knees.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>I love lost people much more since recognizing they are \u201cblinded by the god of this age\u201d (2 Cor 4:3-4).<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They\u2019re caught in the same trap I was caught in prior to God\u2019s saving me. No matter who they are or what they\u2019ve done, I want them to know His redeeming, freeing grace.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>I handle interpersonal conflict in the church differently.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If people aren\u2019t my enemy, I can genuinely love them even when I must confront them. I don\u2019t want the enemy to win in any of our lives.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>I forgive others much more readily. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of us are responsible for our actions, despite our battles with the world, the flesh, and the devil (Eph 2:1-3); so, accountability and repentance really do matter. Still, it\u2019s easier for me to forgive others when I realize we\u2019re all facing the same enemy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>I train believers differently when I equip them to do evangelism.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They\u2019re engaging in the war when they take the light of the gospel into the darkness, and I want them to be prepared. I spend time in my training to help them wear the full armor of God and pray (Eph 6:10-20).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>I give more attention to learning the stories of people I shepherd and disciple.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Many of them bear scars similar to mine, but they don\u2019t talk about their pain. In their silence, the enemy keeps them bound\u2014so I want them to talk to me.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>I love even more what I do.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Spiritual warfare makes ministry harder, but Jesus already disarmed the powers through His cross (Col 2:15). You and I have the responsibility of announcing victory that is both already achieved and still to be completed. What a privilege!\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May God grant you victory over the enemy today!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve studied and written about spiritual warfare for more than thirty years now. In fact, you can study the topic with me through the Church Answers \u201cChurch Equip\u201d course, \u201cEngaging in Spiritual Warfare.\u201d In some ways, that short course reflects the core of what I\u2019ve taught over the years.\u00a0 What I don\u2019t always talk about&#8230;","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":841155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,183,195,184,175,192,177,191,14796,180,18470,194,185],"tags":[19078,19853,19852,19036,19851],"class_list":["post-841153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers","category-communications","category-conflict-and-people-problems","category-discipleship","category-grow","category-how-to","category-lead","category-mind-body-and-spirit","category-monday-wednesday-featured","category-outreach-and-evangelism","category-prayer-grow","category-preaching","category-worship","tag-church-leader","tag-conflict","tag-engaging-in-spiritual-warfare","tag-prayer","tag-spiritual-warfare"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019ve studied and written about spiritual warfare for more than thirty years now. In fact, you can study the topic with me through the Church Answers \u201cChurch Equip\u201d course, \u201cEngaging in Spiritual Warfare.\u201d In some ways, that short course reflects the core of what I\u2019ve taught over the years. What I don\u2019t always talk about when I\u2019m teaching this topic, however, is why I started studying warfare in the first place. My father drank when I was quite young, and he had a violent, explosive temper for many years. My first memory is a time when my dad was angry at my mom for being at the store too long, and he destroyed the bottom floor of our home. Now more than sixty years later, I can still walk you through that house and show you the upheaval as if it happened yesterday. Every detail remains etched in my mind. Even my Christian conversion at age 13 did not erase that memory\u2014or many others, for that matter. Indeed, more than once I stood between my mom and dad\u2014both of them towering over me when I was younger\u2014hoping to shield my mom as she shook and cried in fear under the barrage of my dad\u2019s verbal assaults. I was equally afraid, but I felt a compulsion to somehow guard my mom. In fact, I lived in dreaded fear of my dad until I was big enough to stand up to him (or more likely, just avoid him)\u2014but the fears of my young years then turned to hatred in my teen years. Again, though, my conversion at age 13 didn\u2019t free me immediately from those feelings; it just left me confused under what I would later learn was Holy Spirit conviction. It would be more than 15 years later before I found victory over that anguish. That\u2019s where the topic of spiritual warfare entered my story.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader | Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve studied and written about spiritual warfare for more than thirty years now. In fact, you can study the topic with me through the Church Answers \u201cChurch Equip\u201d course, \u201cEngaging in Spiritual Warfare.\u201d In some ways, that short course reflects the core of what I\u2019ve taught over the years. What I don\u2019t always talk about when I\u2019m teaching this topic, however, is why I started studying warfare in the first place. My father drank when I was quite young, and he had a violent, explosive temper for many years. My first memory is a time when my dad was angry at my mom for being at the store too long, and he destroyed the bottom floor of our home. Now more than sixty years later, I can still walk you through that house and show you the upheaval as if it happened yesterday. Every detail remains etched in my mind. Even my Christian conversion at age 13 did not erase that memory\u2014or many others, for that matter. Indeed, more than once I stood between my mom and dad\u2014both of them towering over me when I was younger\u2014hoping to shield my mom as she shook and cried in fear under the barrage of my dad\u2019s verbal assaults. I was equally afraid, but I felt a compulsion to somehow guard my mom. In fact, I lived in dreaded fear of my dad until I was big enough to stand up to him (or more likely, just avoid him)\u2014but the fears of my young years then turned to hatred in my teen years. Again, though, my conversion at age 13 didn\u2019t free me immediately from those feelings; it just left me confused under what I would later learn was Holy Spirit conviction. It would be more than 15 years later before I found victory over that anguish. That\u2019s where the topic of spiritual warfare entered my story.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-09T11:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chuck Lawless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chuck Lawless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chuck Lawless\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\"},\"headline\":\"Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-09T11:00:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/\"},\"wordCount\":894,\"commentCount\":2,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Church Leader\",\"Conflict\",\"Engaging in Spiritual Warfare\",\"Prayer\",\"Spiritual Warfare\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Church Answers\",\"Communications\",\"Conflict &amp; People Problems\",\"Discipleship\",\"Grow\",\"How To\",\"Lead\",\"Mind, Body, &amp; Spirit\",\"Monday\/Wednesday Featured\",\"Outreach &amp; Evangelism\",\"Prayer\",\"Preaching\",\"Worship\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/\",\"name\":\"Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader | Church Answers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-09T11:00:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\"},\"description\":\"I\u2019ve studied and written about spiritual warfare for more than thirty years now. 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My first memory is a time when my dad was angry at my mom for being at the store too long, and he destroyed the bottom floor of our home. Now more than sixty years later, I can still walk you through that house and show you the upheaval as if it happened yesterday. Every detail remains etched in my mind. Even my Christian conversion at age 13 did not erase that memory\u2014or many others, for that matter. Indeed, more than once I stood between my mom and dad\u2014both of them towering over me when I was younger\u2014hoping to shield my mom as she shook and cried in fear under the barrage of my dad\u2019s verbal assaults. I was equally afraid, but I felt a compulsion to somehow guard my mom. In fact, I lived in dreaded fear of my dad until I was big enough to stand up to him (or more likely, just avoid him)\u2014but the fears of my young years then turned to hatred in my teen years. 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In fact, you can study the topic with me through the Church Answers \u201cChurch Equip\u201d course, \u201cEngaging in Spiritual Warfare.\u201d In some ways, that short course reflects the core of what I\u2019ve taught over the years. What I don\u2019t always talk about when I\u2019m teaching this topic, however, is why I started studying warfare in the first place. My father drank when I was quite young, and he had a violent, explosive temper for many years. My first memory is a time when my dad was angry at my mom for being at the store too long, and he destroyed the bottom floor of our home. Now more than sixty years later, I can still walk you through that house and show you the upheaval as if it happened yesterday. Every detail remains etched in my mind. Even my Christian conversion at age 13 did not erase that memory\u2014or many others, for that matter. Indeed, more than once I stood between my mom and dad\u2014both of them towering over me when I was younger\u2014hoping to shield my mom as she shook and cried in fear under the barrage of my dad\u2019s verbal assaults. I was equally afraid, but I felt a compulsion to somehow guard my mom. In fact, I lived in dreaded fear of my dad until I was big enough to stand up to him (or more likely, just avoid him)\u2014but the fears of my young years then turned to hatred in my teen years. Again, though, my conversion at age 13 didn\u2019t free me immediately from those feelings; it just left me confused under what I would later learn was Holy Spirit conviction. It would be more than 15 years later before I found victory over that anguish. That\u2019s where the topic of spiritual warfare entered my story.","og_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/","og_site_name":"Church Answers","article_published_time":"2024-12-09T11:00:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Chuck Lawless","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chuck Lawless","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/"},"author":{"name":"Chuck Lawless","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f"},"headline":"Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader","datePublished":"2024-12-09T11:00:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/"},"wordCount":894,"commentCount":2,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png","keywords":["Church Leader","Conflict","Engaging in Spiritual Warfare","Prayer","Spiritual Warfare"],"articleSection":["Church Answers","Communications","Conflict &amp; People Problems","Discipleship","Grow","How To","Lead","Mind, Body, &amp; Spirit","Monday\/Wednesday Featured","Outreach &amp; Evangelism","Prayer","Preaching","Worship"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/","name":"Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader | Church Answers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png","datePublished":"2024-12-09T11:00:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f"},"description":"I\u2019ve studied and written about spiritual warfare for more than thirty years now. In fact, you can study the topic with me through the Church Answers \u201cChurch Equip\u201d course, \u201cEngaging in Spiritual Warfare.\u201d In some ways, that short course reflects the core of what I\u2019ve taught over the years. What I don\u2019t always talk about when I\u2019m teaching this topic, however, is why I started studying warfare in the first place. My father drank when I was quite young, and he had a violent, explosive temper for many years. My first memory is a time when my dad was angry at my mom for being at the store too long, and he destroyed the bottom floor of our home. Now more than sixty years later, I can still walk you through that house and show you the upheaval as if it happened yesterday. Every detail remains etched in my mind. Even my Christian conversion at age 13 did not erase that memory\u2014or many others, for that matter. Indeed, more than once I stood between my mom and dad\u2014both of them towering over me when I was younger\u2014hoping to shield my mom as she shook and cried in fear under the barrage of my dad\u2019s verbal assaults. I was equally afraid, but I felt a compulsion to somehow guard my mom. In fact, I lived in dreaded fear of my dad until I was big enough to stand up to him (or more likely, just avoid him)\u2014but the fears of my young years then turned to hatred in my teen years. Again, though, my conversion at age 13 didn\u2019t free me immediately from those feelings; it just left me confused under what I would later learn was Holy Spirit conviction. It would be more than 15 years later before I found victory over that anguish. That\u2019s where the topic of spiritual warfare entered my story.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Suit-of-armor-of-Roman-gladiator.png","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Suit of armor of Roman gladiator. church equip curriculum Church Equip Engaging in Spiritual Warfare: Biblical Truth for Victory"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/why-i-started-studying-spiritual-warfare-and-how-my-story-might-help-you-as-a-church-leader\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why I Started Studying Spiritual Warfare, and How My Story Might Help You as a Church Leader"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/","name":"Church Answers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f","name":"Chuck Lawless","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chuck Lawless"},"description":"Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/clawless\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841153"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841157,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841153\/revisions\/841157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}